Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 10) — The Department of Health (DOH) said it has observed a plateauing in the number of COVID-19 cases nationwide and in the regions, with the projected number of cases in the middle of next month at less than 1,000 cases.
“As we have reported, we’re having this plateau in areas wherein cases are declining both nationally and even in the regional areas of the country,” DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said at a media briefing on Tuesday.
She said that as of Tuesday, there was an observed 1% increase in the number of cases, but added that it was not significant enough to say there was an uptick in cases because of the holidays.
Vergeire said the DOH would continue to monitor the situation, but they remain hopeful the numbers will remain low.
“Meron tayong projections ngayon that our cases, by February 15, if ever minimum public health standards decline, tapos tuluy-tuloy ang pasok ng variants na highly evasive and transmissible, we would see up hanggang 730 cases by February 15. Hanggang ganong levels lang ang nakikita ngayon,” she said.
[Translation: We have projections now that our cases, if ever minimum public health standards decline and highly evasive and transmissible cases keep coming in, we see cases going only up to 730 by February 15.]
The DOH also reminded devotees who attended events related to the Feast of the Black Nazarene to wear masks for the next five days and monitor themselves for any symptoms.
“Kung sakaling makaramdam na parang tinatrangkaso, sinisipon, inuubo, linalagnat, mag-isolate na agad at tumawag sa ating local government for proper management,” said Vergeire.
[Translation: Should they experience flu-like symptoms, get a cold, cough or fever, they should isolate themselves and call the local government for proper management.]
However, Vergeire expressed confidence that the recent Walk of Faith, which replaced the traditional Traslacion in this year’s celebrations, will not necessarily lead to a surge in COVID-19 cases, noting that while the activities drew in huge crowds, many of the attendees were wearing face masks.
Vergeire also noted that an increased vaccination rate really made a difference in managing the country’s COVID-19 situation.
“We’ve had several events like this before, like yung May elections na meron din mga campaigns and rallies na ang dami talagang tao, but we were able to maintain the number of cases at a minimum,” Vergeire said.
[Translation: We’ve had several events like this before, like the May elections and campaigns and rallies where there were a lot of people, but we were able to maintain the number of cases at a minimum.]
